Durbin recommends 4 for federal bench

July 06, 2011|By Katherine Skiba | Tribune reporter

WASHINGTON—Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois has given the White House the names of four Chicago area lawyers he would like to see appointed to the federal court bench in Chicago, the senator’s office said Wednesday.

There now are three judicial vacancies in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

Durbin, a Democrat, is the state’s senior U.S. senator. Sen. Mark Kirk, a Republican and the junior senator, separately gave the White House one recommendation to the bench on Tuesday.

Durbin’s recommendations are:

• Julie Bauer, who is a partner at Winston & Strawn and lives in River Forest. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of Illinois College of Law.

• Edward Feldman, who is a partner at Miller Shakman & Beem and lives in Evanston. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School.

• John Lee, who is a partner at Freeborn & Peters and lives in Barrington. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School.

• Sheldon Zenner, who is a partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman and lives in Evanston. He graduated cum laude from the Northwestern University School of Law. Zenner is a former federal prosecutor.

On Tuesday, Kirk recommended John Tharp, a partner at Mayer Brown and a former federal prosecutor, for the federal bench. Tharp graduated magna cum laude from Northwestern Law School and lives in Oak Park.

Durbin’s office said he made his recommendations with the help of a 10-member screening committee and consulted on his choices with Kirk.